Cereal Chivda (Sweet and Spicy Cereal mix)

Turn your leftover cereals into a snack (Cereal Chivda) that your kids will love to munch on during a road trip or after school.

Not sure why at least some of us seem to do this – open new packets of cereals without finishing the old ones. I sure am guilty of doing this. I do that with shampoos as well (ugh!).

It also appears that I have another problem – going crazy at the cereal aisle and buying every cereal there is. That is why my husband insists on doing the grocery all by himself. I thought he was trying to help out when he said this a year ago – ” Let me do the groceries from now on” but I found out the real reason behind this just a few days back when I was cleaning up the pantry.

When I dug up deep into the pantry, I found quite a few cereal packets that were unfinished – Rice Krispies, Honey nut Cheerios, regular Cheerios and Kellogg’s cornflakes to name a few. On stumbling upon my discovery, he blurted out – “This is why I do all the groceries. Why do you buy so much? We will have to throw all of these out ”

“THROW? No, I am sure we don’t need to do that. The kids will eat them.” I responded. The kids looked at me and politely said, “No Mom, we don’t like these cereals anymore.” Seriously?

There was no way I was going to toss all those cereal packets out. I started to think through a few ways I could use these cereals – I could make a Rice Krispie treat but what would I do with the Cheerios? After going back and forth, I thought of tempering the cereals with a little oil, salt, sugar, and cayenne pepper and throw in some peanuts and dry fruits to the mix and that’s how this Cereal Chivda recipe was born.

The recipe I followed was pretty much like this Poha Chivda I made during Diwali. I knew my kids loved that, so there was a good chance that they would love this too. And they did :).

I think I redeemed myself for now. What do you think? Let me know via your comments.

2cupshoney nut cheerios, add a teaspoon of sugar if using plain cheerios

2cupscornflakes

2cupsRice Krispies

1/4cupraisins

Instructions

Add oil to a large wok or kadhai and once the oil heats up add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add kadipatta (curry leaves), channa dal cashews and peanuts. Roast them for 2-3 minutes till they slightly turn golden brown.

Add the raisins, chili powder, turmeric, and salt and mix them well.

Add the cereals in batches and mix them well with the spices and nuts.

Turn off the heat and let the cereal chivda cool down to room temperature.

Store it in an air-tight container or a zip lock at room temperature and it will stay fresh for over a week.

Notes

I have used roasted channa dal and peanuts. If not using the roasted kind, add additional time (5-8 minutes) to your cooking process to roast them well.

Disclaimer: Approximate Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and can vary depending on the exact ingredients/brands used. If you have health issues, please work with a registered dietician or nutritionist.

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Hello and Namaste!

Hi! I am Anu - former Project Manager, now full time blogger. I show busy moms how to cook healthy and delicious meals with just a few basic ingredients. Find exciting and easy Indian inspired recipes here that will inspire you to cook at home. Read More…

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